The GTX 1080 Phoenix Goes Like Hell is the right card to experience a whole new class of performance enhanced gaming. The user can freely experiment with all the new Nvidia features, and we believe it has enough under the hood to drive whatever comes next.

Nvidia Geforce GTX 1080 and Geforce GTX 1070 are consumer graphics cards from the new Geforce Pascal generation. Both are very powerful and even the GTX Titan X cannot cope in terms of gaming performance and power efficiency.

Nvidia has introduced its reference cards and its partners are good to go with custom designs. Gainward as one of the oldest and most experienced partners knows how to gain attention of the users. This time Gainward has GTX 1080 Phoenix, which is a nice looking graphics card with a completely new cooler design and some other tweaks across a PCB. The cooler is three slots wide and according to Gainward this was done to deliver the card which is quiet in all working scenarios.

Before we go into detail about Phoenix card, it is important to compare the GTX 1080 (using GP104 GPU) to its predecessor the GTX 980 (using GM204 GPU). The GTX 1080 and the GTX 1070 are based on the same GP104 GPU, however the GTX 1070 has a considerably lower performance due to some cuts through the GPU.

The new Pascal architecture uses TSMC's 16nm FinFET node which is more advanced compared to 28nm FinFET used for the GM204, and for the GM200 (GTX 980 Ti). By lowering the physical size of transistors it is possible to squeeze 7.2 billion transistors into a 314 mm² package. Compare this to the 5.2 billion transistors packed into 398 mm² for the GM204. In terms of density this means the GP104 has 22.9 million transistors per mm2, compared to only 13.1 million transistors per mm2 for the GM204.

There are optimisations and improvements across the GPU that provide a better performance per watt curve. As in the previous generation, the GPU core is divided into four graphics processing clusters (GPC), but the GP104 GPU has less shared resources and more dedicated resources which leads to better performance.

The GTX 1080 has more CUDA cores (2560 vs. 2048) and more TMUs (160 vs. 128). The design of ALUs is unchanged. There are still 128 CUDA cores per streaming multiprocessor (SSM) and data throughput per clock of this units is the same compared to the previous Maxwell generation. Now there are five SMMs per GPC instead of the previous four SMMs per GPC.

Memory is increased (8GB vs. 4GB), and bandwith (320GB/s vs. 224GB/s) too. Unlike AMD, Nvidia is not using the new HBM2 memory. It deploys fast GDDR5X memory. This provides a nice 320GB/s bandwith, previously being available only by implementing 384-bit or 512-bit GDDR5 memory interfaces. The base GPU clock is set at 1607MHz, while the boost clock is 1733MHz. The GP104 likes overclocking and we went beyond 2GHz easily.

Gainward GTX 1080 Phoenix Goes Like Hell graphics card used in this review had a hefty factory overclock which set the base GPU clock to 1747MHz. The Memory clock is also increased from 1251MHz to 1314MHz.

The Packaging

The front side of the box has an image of the Phoenix or the Gamer’s spirit.

Under the foldable front side, you will find some images of the card and the cooling solution.

The key features of the current generation are listed on the back.This packaging is sturdy and can survive nasty transport conditions.

Gainward included a nice poster (paper quality could be better however).

A closer look at GTX 1080 Phoenix

We met the Phoenix cooler for the first time in September 2015, when Gainward showed us the Geforce GTX 980 Ti Phoenix, (shown below). We were impressed with the cooling performance and the great build quality (all aluminum).

Gainward has crafted another Phoenix cooler for the Geforce GTX 1080, which is much bigger. We hope it is more powerful. The Next image shows new GTX 1080 Phoenix Goes Like Hell graphics card.

The new Phoenix measures 28.5sm x 13.3cm, and this is one clear confirmation that we are looking at an oversized graphics card. We’re talking about 2.5 slots width, with a card which is 2cm taller than standard.

For a long time Gainward used a Phantom cooler which was also 2.5 slots wide. The Phantom cooler performed well and was famous for its removable fan feature, as shown in the image below. However, its 2.5 slot width was a drawback for some users when considering 3-way or 4-way SLI setups. Since Nividia no longer supports 3-way and 4-way SLI, at least not directly, maybe Gainward is not wrong with introducing again a 2.5 slot cooler.

A special feature of the Phantom cooler was that the fans can be removed without removing the heatsink or messing with the wiring.

Officially the GTX 1080 supports only two-way SLI. This is so that it can provide more bandwith at 4K at 60 Hz and above. To support this, Nvidia developed advanced high-bandwidth SLI bridges called "SLI HB" which need SLI connectors in 2-way SLI mode. Both 3-way and 4-way SLI are still possible using a special software key from NVIDIA (while support in future games depends on the game/benchmark developers).

The GTX 1080 Phoenix cooler comes with a large heatsink and it relies on two 10cm fans for good cooling.

Gainward added a bit of value to the GTX 1080 with a custom design and generous factory overclock. If you prefer an Nvidia reference design, you can find it in Gainward’s portfolio. Next image shows Gainward GTX 1080 Founders Edition. Dimensions of this card are 27.0 cm x 11.0 cm.

The reference cooler design is not changed much compared to the previous generation. It uses a vapor-chamber baseplate to soak up the heat quickly - but as you can see the shroud has a slightly tessellated surface to provide more edged surface. The GTX 1080 has high GPU clocks and the reference cooler is not the best thing to use. It is not really loud or annoying, but it is not quiet either. We hope the Phoenix will score well here.

We miss the backplate on the GTX 980 Phantom card, but the GTX 980 Ti Phoenix GS and GTX 980 Ti Phoenix GS cards come with it. It is not that much important for the cooling but the backplate adds much to the overall image of the card.

The GTX 1080 supports Microsoft Direct X12 and DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b. Since the DVI connector lacks analog wiring there is no support for D-sub monitors through dongles. After we become acquainted with Adaptive V-Sync which was introduced with Kepler, and with G-SYNC introduced with Maxwell, it was time to learn about Fast Sync. This display sync option combines good and bad sides of the two V-Sync modes. Fast Sync provides low-latency but at the same time it eliminates frame-tearing.

A closer look continued

The shroud looks nice and finally we have a glowing logo, it seems this as an important feature for some users.

The shroud is made of plastic with anodized aluminium trimmings, otherwise it would be too heavy. It is open on all sides and the openings serve as exhaust vents.

We always advise users to clean the heatsink regularly. It’s good for the card and it also helps keep fan RPMs as low as possible, but cleaning the heatsink can become cumbersome on some cards, as it is a case with the GTX 1080 Phantom. Unfortunately, accessing the heatsink is not easy. You cannot remove the shroud simply by undoing some screws, the entire cooler has to be removed. Note that removing the whole heatsink will void warranty.

The new Phoenix cooler uses two 10cm fans and both fans are connected using a single 4-pin connector. Fan RPM can be regulated via different tools, like Gainward’s own EXPERTool.

The LED on the top requires its own power connector.

As already said the PCB is 2cm taller than a reference one. This creates enough space to use two huge heatsinks which are connected using three 8mm heatpipes.

3DMark

Crysis 3

Battlefield 4

Doom

Thermals, Noise, Overclocking and Power Consumption

The new Phoenix cooler is superior to the reference design as it keeps the GPU temperatures below 75 degrees Celsius. The Phoenix cooler ensures the card maintains the maximum Boost clock possible for as long as possible. The new Boost 3.0 algorithm will reduce the GPU Boost clocks on the GTX 1080 if the GPU temperature goes over 83 degrees Celsius, but the Phoenix cooler keeps the GPU temperature significantly lover.

The card is completely silent in idle and during media playback or light gaming despite the fact that the card doesn't turns its fans off when GPU temperature is below 60 degrees Celsius, like the GTX 980 Ti Phoenix. The GTX 1080 Phoenix cooler is quiet, almost inaudible, even under load.The Gainward's own EXPERTool utility adds some features for GTX 1080 Phoenix board such as changing fan curve and BIOS saving function. We could not hear coil whine.

The Gainward GTX 1080 Phoenix GLH works at a 1747MHz base clock, while the reference GPU base clock is set at 1607MHz. The overclocking potential is good considering that this is a factory overclocked card. Using standard voltage and AUTO fan settings we managed to push the GPU 120MHz over the factory clocks. This resulted in a 6-8% performance gain in our games. The card remained silent even after our additional overclocking.

Power consumption increases slightly after overclocking, but only by 22W. Without overclocking GTX 1080 Phoenix GLH consumes only 4W more than a GTX 1080 Founders Edition. In general the GTX 1080 requires about 166 watts in typical gaming. This is pretty amazing since the card has the same power requirements as the Geforce GTX 980.

Conclusion

The GTX 1080 is Nvidia’s new flagship graphics card, and it is already established as one of the the best gaming graphics cards ever. Even at reference speeds, the GTX 1080 manages to be faster in games than GTX Titan X. Gainward GTX 1080 Phoenix Goes Like Hell comes with a nice 140MHz GPU overclock which translates to about 34 per cent performance increase over GTX Titan X.

The GTX 1080 Phoenix Goes Like Hell card is unfortunately unavailable, however it is listed for €750 which is only slightly above the price which is asked for the GTX 1080 Founders Edition.

Gainward went with a new cooler design which was good. The Phoenix cooler keeps the card quiet even during long gaming sessions. The card is factory overclocked but this does not mean the fun stops there. We raised the GPU clock by additional 120MHz and the fans were still quiet.

Gainward GTX 1080 Phoenix Goes Like Hell is faster than GTX Titan X but is considerably cheaper. Until recently is was impossible to play games smoothly at 4K resolution, but with the last generation of the high end cards, including GTX 1080 Phoenix card we can.

The GTX 1080 Phoenix Goes Like Hell is the right card to experience a whole new class of the performance enhanced gaming environment. The user can freely experiment with all the new Nvidia features, and we believe it has enough under the hood to drive whatever comes next.

The memory overclock really does much to increase gaming results, and GLH is faster that many GTX 960 competitors cards which have higher GPU clock, but no memory overclock. This was a good call on Gainward’s part.

Nvidia just launched the GTX 960 series, the first mainstream graphics card based on the company’s Maxwell architecture and we are playing with a few samples, including Gainward’s GTX 960 Phantom GLH (Goes Like Hell) card.

The GLH card looks like many other Gainward cards with the trademark Phantom cooler, as it is not a new design – the cooler is used on the GTX 760 Phantom card and GTX 970 Phantom card, but this is not a bad thing. Actually, it’s a good thing since this is a great cooler, but the downside is that it takes up 2.5 slots in your rig.

The Phantom’s fans are hidden behind the heatsink, so it may trick the casual observer into thinking that it’s a passive cooler. Still, if you peek through the heatsink fins, you’ll see the silhouettes of the fans. The shroud looks nice, but it is plastic. The GTX 970 Phantom card is 247mm long and 112mm high.

The fans can be removed without removing the heatsink or messing with the wiring. You just need to undo a single screw and pull the fan out of the heatsink. This clever trick was introduced on Gainward’s Kepler generation cards and it saves a lot of time if you need to clean your card.

The Phantom cooler is can keep the temperature below 69 degrees Celsius despite high factory overclock. More importantly, the card is quiet all the time. Gainward did not implement Nvidia’s new Fan Stop Mode feature (which stops the fan in idle) but the GTX 960 Phantom GLH is inaudible in idle mode anyway. Our measurements can confirm that in idle the GPU temperature of the GLH stays below 32 degrees Celsius and the card is totally silent. When it’s idling, the fans spin at about 800RPM, as you can see from the GPUZ screenshots below.

The GTX 960 Phantom GLH works at a base clock of 1279MHz, while the reference GPU base clock is 1126MHz. Nvidia's GPU Boost 2.0 takes the average GPU clock to 1342MHz for the reference GPU and to 1304MHz for the Phantom card.

The reference GTX 960 has a TDP of 120W and the GLH will consume a little bit more due to the factory overclock. Both cards use one 6-pin power connector. For comparison, the GTX 980 has a TDP of 165W and just like the GTX 970 it requires two 6-pin power connectors.

Like the Geforce GTX 980, the Geforce GTX 960 has a new display engine capable of supporting resolutions up to 5K with up to four simultaneous displays (including support for up to four 4K MST displays). GeForce GTX 960 also supports HDMI 2.0, and with added support for H.265 (HEVC) encoding and decoding.

The GTX 960 Phantom GLH is good card for gamers on a budget who are keen to play at 1080p with plenty of eye candy. The factory overclock brings better performance out of the box. The Gainward card comes with a 153MHz GPU overclock, and what we really like is the 50MHz (200MHz effective) memory overclock. The memory overclock really does much to increase gaming results, and GLH is faster that many GTX 960 competitors cards which have higher GPU clock, but no memory overclock. This was a good call on Gainward’s part.

We will proceed to run more tests and the full review will be available soon.

Nvidia has released two new graphics cards based on its latest Maxwell GPU architecture. The Geforce GTX 970 and Geforce GTX 980 will replace the outgoing Kepler-based Geforce GTX 780 and Geforce GTX 780Ti.

Although Nvidia showed off GTX 970 referent cards, we don’t expect to see many of them in retail. Nvidia gave its AIB partners the green light to offer custom designs at launch, so we are already seeing GTX 970 cards with factory overclocks and custom coolers.

Gainward is offering two 970-series cards. The first one works at reference clocks and comes with a custom blower cooler. The second one is factory overclocked card and comes with the Phantom cooler, which is supposed to ensure quiet operation at the higher clocks.

The GTX 970 Phantom works at a base clock of 1152MHz, while the reference GPU base clock is 1050MHz. Nvidia's GPU Boost 2.0 takes the average GPU clock to 1178MHz for the reference GPU and to 1304MHz for the Phantom card.

GTX 980 and GTX 970 are based on the new 28nm GM204 GPU. The GTX 980 comes with 2048 CUDA cores, while the GTX 970 has 1664 CUDA cores enabled. Three out of sixteen streaming multiprocessors, which each hold 128 CUDA cores, are disabled on the GTX 970.

In addition to the relatively impressive GPU clock, the Phantom also looks good. It uses a massive triple-slot cooler and it looks like it means business, but then again a triple-slot cooler isn’t a great choice for all users.

The fans can be removed without removing the heatsink or messing with the wiring. You just need to undo a single screw and pull the fan out of the heatsink. This clever trick was introduced on Gainward’s Kepler generation cards and it saves a lot of time if you need to clean your card.

The GTX 980 has a TDP of 165W, while the GTX 970 is rated at 145W (both cards require two 6-pin power connectors). The old GTX 780 Ti and GTX 780 have a TDP of 250W.

As far as video outputs on the reference GTX 970 are concerned, few users will have a reason to complain. The reference card features three DisplayPort connectors, an HDMI 2.0 connector (allowing you to run 4K@60Hz), and a dual-link DVI output for a total of five connectors.

The Gainward GTX 970 Phantom features the same number of connectors as the reference card, but it uses mini HDMI and mini DisplayPort connectors. They might not be the best choice for all users.

Just like their predecessors, GTX 980 and GTX 970 are capable of delivering smooth frame rates at resolutions up to 2560x1600. In case you are planning to build a 4K capable rig, two GTX 970 cards should be enough for good frame rates and anti-aliasing in demanding titles.

The Phantom’s performance is almost on a par with the EVGA GTX 970 Superclocked, which boasts a somewhat higher GPU clock. Despite the factory overclock, the Phantom cooler is still quiet and noise is simply not an issue. However, the GTX 970 Phantom heats up to 80 degrees Celsius and this is the price it pays for silence.

The GTX 970 Phantom is already shipping in Europe and it costs 20 to 30 euro more than the reference clocked Gainward GTX 970.

Gainward has announced its newest Phantom series graphics card, the GTX 780 Ti Phantom. Based on Gainward's own custom design, the new updated Phantom cooler and high-factory GPU overclock, the new Gainward GTX 780 Ti will certainly be one of the more interesting custom GTX 780 Ti graphics cards on the market.

Gainward decided to use the 980MHz for the base GPU clock, which is quite significantly higher than 875MHz on the reference design. It also comes with 3GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 7GHz and paired up with a 384-bit memory interface. According to Gainward, this was enough to make the GTX 780 Ti Phantom one of the fastest single-GPU graphics card on the market as it ends up to 10% faster than the reference GTX 780 Ti.

The custom PCB features an 8-phase VRM design with DrMOS and the card requires two 8-pin PCI-Express power connectors which should ensure that there will be an additional overclocking headroom as well. The new triple-fan Phantom cooler design comes with a "removable fan" feature, where each fan body can be removed for cleaning. The Phantom cooler also features five 8mm heatpipes soldered to the copper base.

Gainward also included the "EXPERTmode" feature with EXPERTTool, which provides some way of tricking the new GTX 780 Ti Phantom in case you are looking for some extreme overclocking that go beyond factory overclock speeds.

Unfortunately, Gainward did not reveal any details regarding the availability date and more importantly, the price of the new GTX 780 Ti Phantom.

Gainward was quite keen to announce the "fastest GPU on the planet", the GTX 780 Ti 3GB. The new GTX 780 Ti is based on the same reference design that all partners have to stick to, at least for now, Gainward did also announce that the GTX 780 Ti Phantom series is definitely on the roadmap.

The currently available Gainward GTX 780 Ti packs 28nm GK110 GPU with 2880 CUDA cores and works at reference 876MHz base and 928MHz Boost GPU clocks, packs 3GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 7000MHz and uses the same blower-style reference cooler we have seen back on the GTX 780 and the GTX Titan graphics cards.

Unfortunately, Gainward did not shed any details regarding the GTX 780 Ti Phantom nor did it gave out any hint on when it is expected on retail/e-tail shelves. According to our sources, custom GTX 780 Ti cards should appear later next month, if all goes well.

In addition to a standard Geforce GTX 760 with a blower-style cooler and reference clocks, Gainward has also launched the new Geforce GTX 760 Phantom graphics card.

Based on the 28nm GK104 GPU with 1152 CUDA cores and Nvidia GPU Boost 2.0 technology, the new Geforce GTX 760 Phantom works at 1072MHz base and 1137MHz Boost clock. The Gainward GTX 760 Phantom still comes with 2GB of GDDR5 memory that has been overclocked to 3100MHz (6200MHz effective) and paired up with a 256-bit memory interface.

The GTX 760 Phantom is paired up with new Gainward Phantom dual-fan cooler which has removable fans and that should provide better cooling performance while maintaining or even lowering the noise level when compared to the reference cooler.

The Gainward GTX 780 is now available priced at about US $649/€649, but we're hoping it will be available for a bit less, since we already saw some listings much closer to $/€600.

We received the sample just a few hours ago, so we don't have many results to share with you, but at least we have some first impressions. Gainward does not have an in-house designed cooler or PCB just yet, so we are looking at a reference Nvidia design.

This means that the GPU base clock is set at 863MHz and the Boost clock is 902MHz. The memory clock is 1502MHz (effective 6008MHz) and it features a 384-bit memory interface. Detailed information is provided by the GPU-Z screenschot below. The GTX 780 is based on the 28nm GK110 GPU which features 2304 CUDA cores. The card is equipped with 3GB of GDDR5 memory. As is the norm in this performance range, the GTX 780 needs 8+6-pin PCI-Express power connectors and it has a 250W TDP.

The reference cooler looks great and in fact it is the same one designed by Nvidia for the GTX Titan graphics card. We really like the looks and the performance is good, too. We also like the fact that the card remained silent through the test run. Temperature read-outs can be seen on the following screenshots.

Idle

Load

The Gainward GTX 780 has two dual-link DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.

In the Crysis 3 test the GTX 780 scores 36.6 FPS at 1920x1080 and 21.6 FPS at 2560x1600, in both cases with in-game Very High settings. By comparison, the GTX 680 scores 28.1 FPS and 16.2 FPS respectively. This is an improvement of 30 percent at 1920x1080 and 33% FPS at the higher 2560x1600 resolution. Judging by our initial tests, peformance is exceptional, but despite that we believe the GTX 780 should have been priced at $/€ 600. In any case, it is an impressive piece of hardware and we're looking ahead to a busy weekend of testing, tweaking and overclocking, so stay tuned for more.

Gainward has joined the fun and launched its own reference GTX 780 graphics card.

As noted earlier, based of the 28nm GK110 GPU, the GTX 780 features 2304 CUDA cores, works at 863MHz base and 900MHz Boost GPU clocks and features 3GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 6000MHz and paired up with a 384-bit memory interface. The new GTX 780 needs 8+6-pin PCI-Express power connectors, features Nvidia GPU Boost 2.0 technology, has two dual-link DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs and a 250W TDP.

Although it did not come up with a custom-cooled Phantom version of the GTX Titan graphics card since Nvidia was pretty much clear that partners are not allowed to change the reference cooler on it, it is possible that Gainward might actually come up with a Phantom version of the GTX 780 since some partners have already announced their own custom-cooled version, despite the fact that the GTX Titan cooler does quite a good job in cooling the GTX 780.

The new Gainward GTX 780 should be rolling out to e-tailers/retailers with a price tag of around US $649/€649.

The Geforce GTX 650 Ti Boostis designed specifically for gamers on budget who want to play at 1920x1080 without breaking the bank. We got an interesting Boost card from Gainward and we'd like to share our first impressions with our you, before we go for an in-depth review.

The great thing about Gainward's GTX 650 Ti Boost Golden Sample card, apart from the fact that it comes with slightly upped performance thanks to some factory overclocking, is its specially designed dual-slot cooler which comes with two heatpipes and two 75mm fans. We can report that the fans are not loud under load. The card is factory overclocked from 980MHz to 1006MHz.

GTX 650 Ti Boost Golden Sample

Base Clock Speed

1006MHz

Typical Boost Clock

1033MHz

CUDA Cores

768

SMX Units

4

Memory speed

6108MHz

Memory Subset

192-bit

Memory Controller

3x64-bit

Memory Capacity

2048MB GDDR5

Power Connectors

1x 6-pin PCIe

Length

25

Display outputs

2x dual-link DVIs

HDMI

DisplayPort

As far as video outs go, we have here the classic Nvidia layout i.e. two dual link DVIs and standard HDMI and DisplayPort connectors. The same goes for the rest of the card, which features one SLI connector and one 6-pin power connector. Note that all video outs can be used at the same time.

You can find some preliminary GTX 650 Ti Boost Golden Sample results below, and it confirms that GTX 650 Ti Boost and HD 7850 have locked horns for mid-range dominance. The results are very close indeed. The choice between the two cards really comes down to the games you prefer, but judging by the results it looks like the crown may very well be decided by new drivers.

Stay tuned for the full review which is coming in a few days, along with another GTX 650 Ti Boost review.

Gainward has launched two GTX 650 Ti Boost graphics cards and one will be a part of Gainwards' impressive "Golden Sample" series.

Interestingly enough, Gainward decided to scrap Nvidia's reference design with a blower-style fan and use its own custom solution with two fans on the Golden Sample, and a single-fan version on the reference clocked card. In case you somehow missed them, the GTX 650 Ti Boost is based on the GK106 GPU, packs 768 CUDA cores, works at 980MHz for the base, 1033MHz for boost GPU clock and comes with either 1 or 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 6008MHz and paired with a 192-bit memory interface.

The more interesting Gainward GTX 650 Ti Golden Sample works at 1006MHz base and 1072MHz boost GPU clocks and even slightly overclock memory clock set at 6108MHz.